Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Communities and Local Government

Council Housing: Antisocial Behaviour Orders

John Mann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have successfully applied for anti-social behaviour orders against their tenants in the last three years. [292383]

Mr. Ian Austin:
The Department does not collect this information.

Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued from April 1999 to December 2007 is available at:

Council Housing: Finance

Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to move debt from highly indebted local authorities to those with no debt as part of his plans for a redistribution of housing debt. [289546]

Mr. Ian Austin:
On 21 July my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing published a consultation paper setting out proposals to replace the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system with a devolved system of responsibility and funding for council housing. This would end the need to redistribute income between council landlords each year, in exchange for a one-off adjustment of housing debt. Under the proposals, some authorities would be provided with funds to pay off debt and others would take on more housing debt, putting all councils in a position to sustain their stock in future from their own income. The consultation paper, 'Reform of council housing finance', is published on my Department's website at:

Empty Shops Funding Grant

Justine Greening:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been (a) distributed to each local authority through the Empty Shops Funding Grant and (b) subsequently spent by each authority; how many empty premises have been utilised as part of the scheme in each year since its inception; and how many he estimates will be used in the next two years. [292080]

Mr. Ian Austin:
On 13 August, CLG announced £3 million funding to help areas hit hardest by the recession find ways to boost town centres, and in particular 13 Oct 2009 : Column 772W
mitigate the negative impact of empty shops on the high street. The 57 local authorities, shown in the following list, have each received £52,631.58. This is new funding for 2009-10 only, which forms part of the package of support that CLG is providing to boost town centres and high streets, as set out in "Looking after our town centres", which we published in April.

In accordance with the Government's policy on local authority funding, it is for the local authorities concerned to decide precisely how it should be spent. However, we continue to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to highlight positive approaches for making use of empty shops, and other ideas for promoting town centres.

Local authorities receiving empty shops funding:

Ashfield

Barnsley

Barrow-in-Furness

Birmingham

Blackburn with Darwen

Blackpool

Bolton

Boston

Bristol

Burnley

Copeland

Corby

Coventry

Darlington

Derby City

Doncaster

Dudley

Durham

Gateshead

Great Yarmouth

Hackney

Halton

Harlow

Hartlepool

Hastings

Hyndburn

Ipswich

Kingston Upon Hull

Kirklees

Knowsley

Leeds

Leicester City

Liverpool

Manchester

Mansfield

Middlesbrough

Newcastle upon Tyne

North East Lincolnshire

North Tyneside

Nottingham City

Pendle

Preston

Rochdale

Rossendale

Rotherham

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Salford

Sandwell

Sefton

Sheffield

South Tyneside

Stoke-on-Trent

Sunderland

Tameside

Thanet

Walsall

Wigan

Wolverhampton

Local Development Frameworks

Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have commenced but not yet completed processes for the approval of a new Local Development Framework; and if he will make a statement. [291952]

Mr. Ian Austin:
'Local Development Framework' is the collective name for the folder of various planning-related documents that local planning authorities have prepared. Some of these documents will have been subject to statutory independent examination in public by the Planning Inspectorate; others will have been approved and adopted by individual authorities where there is no statutory requirement for independent examination. All authorities will have approved documents of one kind or another in place and all are subject to regular monitoring and review, so it is an ongoing process.

Documents that the Planning Inspectorate has considered sound to date are:

50 Core Strategies

37 Area Action Plans

9 Site Allocation Policies

7 Development Control Policies

17 Minerals and Waste Policies

10 other plans dealing with specific themes

385 Statements of Community Involvement.

Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have approved Local Development Frameworks with provision for new house building at a level lower than that required to meet Government targets; and if he will make a statement. [291953]

Mr. Ian Austin:
'Local Development Framework' is the collective name for the folder of various planning-related documents that local planning authorities have prepared. Some of these documents (development plan documents) will have been subject to statutory independent examination in public by the Planning Inspectorate; others will have been approved and adopted by individual authorities where there is no statutory requirement for independent examination.

In order to be found sound, development plan documents are required to be in general conformity with the regional spatial strategy (or spatial development strategy if the LPA is located in London), including housing allocations, if appropriate.

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Local Government: Official Hospitality

Margaret Moran:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the receipt of gratuities and hospitality by staff. [291730]

Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Department has issued no guidance on the receipt of gratuities and hospitality by local authority employees.

Local Government: Pay

John Mann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 100 elected local authority representatives had the highest total remuneration in the latest year for which information is available. [291990]

Ms Rosie Winterton:
This information is not held centrally.

National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the contracts of each member of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit board expire; and what plans he has to renew each such contract. [292350]

Mr. Ian Austin:
All board members' contracts expire on 31 October 2009. We will announce our decision on future board appointments after we have completed a review of the unit later this month.

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many full-time equivalent staff members the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit employed in each of the last three years. [292352]

Mr. Ian Austin:
The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit has employed the following full-time equivalent staff(1) over each of the last three years:

(1) Assumes permanent civil service staff only, excludes two temporary staff for part of period.

Number

October 2006(1) to March 2007

1.42

April 2007-March 2008

12.25

April 2008-March 2009

12.66

April 2009-current

12.8

(1) NHPAU established and first started incurring staff salary costs in October 2006.

In addition, the unit also currently has six board members who work for the unit for up to a maximum of 30 days per year each.

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has reviewed the effectiveness of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit's remit. [292454]

Mr. Ian Austin:
A review of the unit began in August and is expected to conclude shortly.

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Refuges: Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic violence refuges there are in each local authority area in England and Wales. [292520]

Mr. Ian Austin:
The Department does not collect this information.

There is a range of support for victims of domestic violence. Some victims will be accommodated in refuges, but sanctuary schemes and mainstream local authority accommodation may be an option for others, while some victims will pursue independent solutions with help and advice from support schemes as necessary.

The Department has recently commissioned new research that will identify the current housing options available to households at risk of domestic violence, and to assess whether this provision meets current need. It will involve establishing the extent and type of temporary and settled accommodation available for households at risk of domestic violence in England, including the provision of housing related support services delivered to both temporary and settled accommodation, and to households' own homes. This will report early next year. Whether it will show a breakdown in each local authority depends on how many local authorities respond to the research. As the research is still ongoing we are currently unable to determine what the response rate is.

In 2003 the Government announced major investment in refuge provision in England in 2003-06. A total of £34 million capital was allocated and 511 units of accommodation were refurbished or newly built. More recently the Hostels Capital Improvement Programme (2005-07) funded six new and refurbished refuges at a cost of £4 million.

CLG provides essential revenue support for victims of domestic violence through the Supporting People Programme. £64.5 million in 2007-08 up from £61.6 million in 2006-07.

Information for Wales has not been included as provision of refuges is a devolved matter.

Margaret Moran:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic violence refuges have closed in the last five years. [292521]

Mr. Ian Austin:
The Department does not collect this information.

Regional Planning and Development

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on clarification of aspects of the Town and Country (General Permitted Development Order) (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order; and if he will make a statement. [292456]

Mr. Ian Austin:
The Department has received a number of representations from organisations and individuals seeking clarification on issues arising from the Town and Country (General Permitted Development Order) (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Order 2008. The representations include concerns about the way the order is being interpreted by planning authorities.

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I have asked my officials to undertake an assessment of all the matters that have been raised since the introduction of the order. Once that is completed, they will meet with stakeholders to discuss these issues further.